Windows Phone homebrew folders demoed [Video]

We previously looked at the upcoming homebrew hack for folder tiles on the homescreen. Today, Windows Phone Hacker has published a video demonstrating what we should expect to see from the hack, which will require a developer unlocked handset.

While the app needs to be polished and optimized, the demand for such a feature has proved to be apparent so the team will work on the tweaks and look to release the app soon. They also note that more features are already planned for future updates. Keep an eye out for more updates here when the app is released. Should you be a fan of the folders concept by WPCentral member Sebastien "ArtSooby" Bruneau, then this will be right up your street.

Reader comments

Windows Phone homebrew folders demoed [Video]

His Fun folder is the perfect example of why I never liked these concepts. The tile looks like a big mess (I also feel like that about the People tile). Still I appreciate the idea and effort and the fact that some people will be super excited by this.I'm sure Microsoft is working on some solution, hopefully it won't take 2 years to get executed.

It's a good start, though. Ideally I think the Folder live tile would behave just like the People live tile behaves: the icons would flip in and out, in either 1x1 or 2x2 sizes. What would also be great is instead of opening to a list, it would open up to another screen with live tiles. I'm imagining it now: go to app list, long-press on an app, and there would be an option to "pin to folder", and that would in turn give you an option to pin to an existing folder or to a new folder. If you chose create new folder, that folder would then be pinned to the start menu. Then you tap on the Menu live tile and it opens up to the live tiles for all the apps pinned into that folder.Another option would be to make the list more attractive by creating some sort of hub, just like the XBox live hub. I'm just spitballing here - I don't even know if any of this is possible for a developer to create. Ideally Microsoft will eventually relent and create an elegant folder solution.

just as tahiti bob, i do value the efforts provided by the devs for this, but the live tiles is just why we shouldn't have folders on windows phone...the design philosophy is just against this and if people bought this phone it's because we do not want infinite squares of applications overwhelming the screen :)if that is what you're looking for, just go out and get an old iphone which hasn't fundamentaly changed since 2007, or android which is a fragmented copy of it

I don't want infinite squares the same way I don't want a never-ending start menu. Right now, it's to the point where I have to flick my thumb four times to get to the bottom of my start menu. Live tiles are about glance-ability, right? Hard to "glance and go" if it takes four swipes to get to a live tile. One swipe down and one tap on a folder tile would be a much quicker way to get to the apps that are down on the 22nd row of my start menu.

So don't put those attractive "live tiles" in a tile folder. Hate to be picky, but a tile that does nothing but open an app is a tile. A live tile does something; changes, updates, flips, whatever. I have 48 tiles on my Start screen, and believe me, I look at it every few days and try to weed out tiles I no longer want on my Start screen, but it's not easy. Even harder when I have a new tile I want to add to my Start screen, because 48 is already too many, so that means somebody has to go to the back of the bus (aka, my enormous app list). Of my 48 tiles, 21 are static tiles, that never, ever change. Plenty of opportunity to move most of those into 2 or 3 tile folders, and reduce my list to maybe 32. That would be nice. Looking forward to trying this app.

I really appreciate the hard work and great ideas our devs are putting into this OS. It shows that you truly care about the growth of Windows Phone as a platform and you want to make this thing work. As far as the folders idea go i like the use of live tiles but i too feel the tile doesnt get the screen real estate it deserve especially now that devs have free use of creating their own unique dynamic live tile. I can truly see a "Right Swipe" being a home to numerous folders. Each swipe could bring up a new folder with its own label above. In this way the apps you are looking for are always a couple swipes away AND each tile is font and center.